Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Urgent Care’s Voice Must Be Heard on COVID-19 Vaccination Issues—so Raise Yours

Urgent care was overlooked by public health entities at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic—but the College of Urgent Care Medicine and the Urgent Care Association are fighting to ensure that never happens again. That’s of critical importance as cases continue to rise in various parts of the country and the vaccine continues to roll out. Most recently, UCA got in touch with every state vaccination administrator and/or governor’s public health advisor to advocate on …

Update: New Data Quantify Expected Protection After Healthcare Workers Recover from COVID-19

It’s been presumed—but not confirmed or quantified—that there’s a window of protection from further infection after an individual recovers from COVID-19. This is especially important when it comes to the healthcare workers who provide care for patients, including the invaluable team members in your urgent care center. Now data published online by The New England Journal of Medicine offers a glimmer of good (and validated) news, however: Antibodies protect most healthcare workers from reinfection for …

Emergency Rooms Are Overflowing Thanks to COVID-19—and One ED Chief Says Urgent Care Is the Solution

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, many emergency rooms were slammed with patients who either had COVID-19 or were terrified they could have it. And while urban, hospital-aligned urgent care centers saw similar crippling volumes, many others had empty waiting rooms as patients who had relatively minor concerns stayed home out of fear they’d be exposed to the virus. Now as 2021 dawns there’s a greater understanding of who is really …

Patients Want to Know When They Can Get the COVID-19 Vaccine—but the Answer Is Complicated

Readers of mainstream media reports on availability of the COVID-19 vaccine are likely to be confused as to when they themselves will be eligible to get the shot. Where the Boston Herald just reported that the general population might be eligible for immunization “by February,” Forbes posted an article saying that a quarter of the world’s population won’t be able to get the vaccine until 2022. They’re both likely to be correct. The Herald’s source …

Update: CDC Clears More Groups to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine

With coronavirus vaccinations now being administered to the first round of recipients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just issued a new advisory specifying groups who are deemed to be “safe” to receive the vaccine. Specifically, the CDC advises that adults with underlying health conditions and autoimmune conditions, as well as those with a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome and Bell’s palsy can be immunized. Last week, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted …

Be Vigilant for COVID-19 in Patients with Cancer; They’re at Greater Risk for Infection and Severe Disease

We know that immunocompromised patients are at increased risk for all manner of infection, including COVID-19. We also know that patients with cancer fall under that broad umbrella. However, new research indicates that cancer patients, specifically, are at greater risk for infection and subsequent mortality due to the virus. This phenomenon seems to be especially prevalent in those recently diagnosed with leukemia, lung cancer, and non–Hodgkin lymphoma, according to a study just published in JAMA …

Warn Patients with COVID-19: They Could Be in for a Longer Haul Than They Think

Some corners of the public seem to have fallen back into the notion that, while patients with comorbid conditions are at higher risk, a case of COVID-19 is not that different from a bad case of influenza—you feel bad for a week or two and then you’re back on your feet. New data published in the Annals of Internal Medicine should help you disavow them of that misconception, however. An article there indicates that up …

Be Alert for Patients Back from the UK—a New Coronavirus Variant There Could Be Worse Than the Existing One

The United States is already grappling with a deadly resurgence of the COVID-19 virus, but news from the United Kingdom indicates we could see a dire situation turn even worse if we’re not careful. The government there, perhaps wary of repeating mistakes that allowed the virus to run rampant last spring, has already implemented a partial shutdown of nonessential businesses and services in order to discourage widespread contact among the public. This is not “just” …

As 2020 Winds Down, Urgent Care Acquisitions Heat Up

In such a topsy-turvy year, it only makes sense that a changing urgent care landscape is making headlines as 2020 comes to a close. First, WellNow Urgent Care announced that it has acquired Hometown Urgent Care & Occupational Health and its 34 locations across Ohio and Michigan. That move nearly doubles WellNow’s size and moves it onto the list of top 10 urgent care companies in the country. Not to be outdone, FastMed Urgent Care …

Changing Office Hours Over the Holidays? Let Your Patients Know—Before They Get in the Car

The winter holidays are notorious for causing increases in trips to the emergency room. With hospitals already congested (again) due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s likely patients who slice a finger open while carving a roast, eat a questionable clam, or just have an ordinary sore throat will opt to visit an urgent care center instead of the ED. If you’ve done a good job in marketing your center, they’ll probably just hop in the …